Mystery deepened in the case of missing money from the APSRTC Hanumakonda depot, with Rs 3,59,400 being found in a sack in the bushes near the RTC quarters on Sunday.
The amount found was nearly half of what was stolen from the strong room of APSRTC Hanumakonda depot on January 28. On that day, total Rs 32,02,872, collected form conductors, was kept in the strong box.
Later in the day, Ramaiah, a mechanic, working on a bus in the depot, found a jute bag with cash bundles in it. He brought it to the notice of the higher officials. The total amount in the bag was Rs 25,71,400.
Mystified, the officials checked the strong box and to their surprise found the entire cash missing. With Rs `25,71,400 being found, it was calculated that finally Rs 6,31,000 was untraced. A complaint was lodged at Subedhari police Station. Police, who registered the case and took up investigation, suspected the hand of insiders in the theft.
On Saturday, five days after the incident, RTC officials received a call from a public telephone that the missing cash could be found in the bushes near RTC quarters. Officials, including Warangal regional manager V Gangadhar, and police searched the bushes but could not find any cash. They again searched the place on Sunday and found a sack with Rs 3,59,400 cash.
It is suspected that the people who stole from the strong box have dumped the cash in the bushes, worried over police investigation. Police expressed confidence that the mystery will be solved shortly.